Outside Providence

Director:

Michael Corrente

Writers:

Peter and Bobby Farrelly

Miramax; R; 103 minutes

Release:

8/99

Cast:

Alec Baldwin, Shawn Hatosy, Amy Smart

Burnout teen Tim Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy) crashes into a parked police car after toking up with his dead-end friends. Gruff blue-collar pop (Alec Baldwin) sends Tim to a fancy prep school, where Dunphy smokes more pot, finds romance, and eases effortlessly into the school's upper-crust milieu. And that's about it. What's so surprising about Outside Providence, which is set in the '70s, is that the Farrelly Brothers really pull it off. They, along with director Michael Corrente, work energetic realism into tired subject matter.

The Brothers' trademark potty humor is present, albeit reigned in. Baldwin outdoes himself in the role of a brusque single parent who's nicknamed his son with an expletive but really holds coals of affection within his coarse, foul-mouthed demeanor. Hatosy's on-screen ease compliments the movie's solid reminisces. Classic rock hits recur to ensure that everyone leaves the theater feelin' all right.